Oakland Youth Orchestra will open its 50th anniversary season November 2 and 3 with a concert featuring two young soloists who are the winners of the Youth Orchestra's annual Concerto Competition, Artistic Director and Conductor Michael Morgan has announced. Flutist Hallie Jo Gist, age 17, will perform Frank Martin's Ballade for Flute, Piano and Strings (1941) and violinist Jo Griffin, age 15, will perform the first movement of the Barber Violin Concerto (1939) on a program that also includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 "Little Russian" and Wagner's Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Conducted byMichael Morgan and Bryan Nies, the concerts will be given Saturday, November 2, at 3 pm at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland and Sunday, November 3 at 3 pm at Holy Names University in Oakland and admission to both concerts is free of charge. For more information, visit www.oyo.org .

About the Artists

Hallie Jo Gist began playing the flute at age eight and currently studies with Jane Lenoir. Hallie Jo is enjoying her second year in the Oakland Youth Orchestra. In addition, she is also a two-time recipient of the Marin Music Chest scholarship award and had the honor of performing Mozart's Concerto in D Major with the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2012. She is a senior at Redwood High School where she enjoys her academic studies, particularly her social studies and math classes. Her other passions include peer counseling, tutoring and speaking Spanish. Hallie plans to continue her flute studies at the university level.

Jo Griffin, performing with Oakland Youth Orchestra for her second year, is a sophomore in the Virtuoso Program at San Domenico School. Jo's passion for music started at a young age. She began piano at age four, studying with Betty Woo, started playing the violin at age eight and she currently studies with Wei He. Jo is a graduate of The Crowden School in Berkeley, and has performed several times at the Junior Bach Festival in Crowden ensembles. Jo also enjoys composing and is participating for her fourth year in the John Adams Young Composers program at Crowden, studying with Arkadi Serper. She is a 2013 winner of the National Young Composers Challenge for her piece, String Quartet in D Major, which will be performed by members of the Marin Symphony on October 6th.

About Oakland Youth Orchestra: Celebrating 50 Years

Founded in 1964 as the educational arm of the Oakland Symphony, Oakland Youth Orchestra is recognized as an outstanding musical organization in Oakland and San Francisco. The Youth Orchestra features eighty-five talented music students aged 12 to 22 from throughout the region. Oakland Youth Orchestra maintains a commitment to cultural exchange and has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean Islands, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cuba, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, Greece and, most recently in 2013, Argentina and Uruguay. In addition the organization has a history of commissioning, premiering and recording the works of American composers. Oakland Youth Orchestra is a member of the League of American Orchestras, Arts First Oakland, ASCAP, Association of California Symphony Orchestras, BMI and Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.Together with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and Oakland Symphony Chorus, it operates as a unified organizational entity providing performances and music education to youth and adults.